show off

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishshow off phrasal verb1SHOW OFFto try to make people admire your abilities, achievements, or possessions – used to show disapproval → show-offHe couldn’t resist showing off on the tennis court.2show something ↔ offSHOW OFF to show something to a lot of people because you are very proud of ita picture of the restaurant’s owners showing off their award3show something ↔ offSUIT/LOOK GOOD TOGETHER if one thing shows off something else, it makes the other thing look especially attractive syn complementThe white dress showed off her dark skin beautifully. →show→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

show off• She raised her wrist, showing off a sparklingdiamondbracelet.• Billy, please stop showing off and sit down quietly!• He doesn't usually drive as fast as this. He's just showing off because you're here.• At last, this was a chance to show off her talents before a real audience.• I think he was trying to show off in front of the girls.• He wanted to show his daughter off to everybody.• We used to wear as much make-up as we dared, in order to show off to our friends.show-offˈshow-off noun [countable] informalSHOW OFFsomeone who always tries to show how clever or skilled they are so that other people will admire them – often used to show disapprovalShe’s a bit of a show-off.

Examples from the Corpus

show-off• You have to be a bit of a show-off to be an actor.• Peacocks and nightingales are aestheticshow-offs.• The lesson of Trafalgar Square 2000 was that 3000 fearlessanarchists were kept in check by one scantily cladshow-off.• Dave can be a real show-off at times.• Dominic's show-off fact: He was the youngest person ever to run for LondonMayor.• It can encourage the show-off in us.• That was the way to deal with show-offs like Olivia Onions.